Big Jo Training June 24 - July 7

SWIM

A bit of excitement at swimming with us being evacuated from the pool 1hr into our session.  Nothing quite as exciting as a code brown which was of course my first thought but actually due to a leaking pump or something.  The excitement was quickly over once we realized that they turned the hot water off so it was cold showers for all on a chilly winter morning.
Actually a bit more excitement now that I think about it - I found a Speedo silicone strap for my goggles - wooo! No more mornings of lifting my goggles up and having the perished strap snap in half and me having to run to reception in my togs to beg for some scissors to cut a fresh piece.  And it was so cheap I even bought a second one to put in the bank.

BIKE

Knocked out 2 weeks of ~12 hours on the bike - BOOM.  Not really seeing an improvement in my riding sadly.  But I have noticed an improvement in my awesomeness with my awesome new paint job on my TT bike - behold:

Deliciousness

The best part

So now I am riding my TT bike 100% and it is great, we even finally got a nice sunny Sunday to do a long ride so let's hope that continues.

RUN

Running is still good! I even bought a new pair of shoes - purple is not really my colour but hopefully purple is fast.

Purple=fast? I hope so

Purple shoes + orthotic top cover too thick = ouch

 I had an awesome run last weekend and was 90 seconds quicker over the same course as the week before, and then backed it up the next week with my second slowest time on that course so I guess I can't be great all the time...

Roast chicken 101

Big Jo Training June 10 - June 23

SWIM

No new exciting toys at swimming the last couple of weeks sadly and no exciting swimming news.  The most exciting part of swimming at the moment is the spa at the end which is basically the reason why I go to swimming on these cold mornings.
We haven't been doing any threshold stuff so it has all been pretty easy but apparently some threshold sets will be starting soon which will be good for our up coming races, not sure if everyone else at swimming will appreciate it though...

BIKE

Last week I almost cracked 12 hours on the bike which was a bit of a surprise but then it was followed by a ~10 hour week which is about what it has been for the last couple of months.  The weekends have become a real problem with every Sunday morning pissing with rain which makes our long ride very difficult.  Our long rides have only been about 2.5 hours long instead of 3-4... but we have not even reached July yet and so are very far from the business side of Ironman training so no need to panic just yet.  And all those people harping on about their 160-180km rides of FaceTube are just silly - who needs to be doing such huge amounts of training 4 months+ out from Ironman?! I normally only start training specifically for Ironman about 12 weeks before...  The proof will be in the pudding come October the 12th...

 

Tree down - not good biking weather

The Tadpolemator is very close to be finished and hopefully I will back on it by next weekend, here is a little sneak preview...

Nom nom nom

RUN

Running is GOOD! I have been keeping my long run at about 80mins and I was even a whole minute faster over the same course last weekend - woo! I have to say it is very nice to run without being injured so long may it last.
I bought a new pair of shoes the other day so I am eagerly awaiting their arrival, can't quite say that purple is my colour but hopefully it won't clash with my BMW kit too much...

Shame I couldn't wear my warm jacket during the Polar Blast

Lunch with my new friend John

Big Jo Training May 27 - June 9

SWIM

Exciting swimming news - the Muppet Swimskin II has arrived!! A bit muffintop-ish around the thighs but otherwise fits all good.  Not labelled Little Muppet this time (like my Helix) but with my name which is pretty cool, it would be a bit cooler if they'd spelled my name right...

Jo Carrellllllllllllll

It had it's debut at swimming last week and although I didn't quite have to move up a lane because I was so fast it hopefully did make me a bit faster.  I did at one point glide into Amber's feet which I blamed on the suit but may have been more due to me not looking where I was going.
The Muppet Suit will now be packed away until I hit the warm waters of Samoa in August.

BIKE

The little Tadpolemator is STILL being painted (or maybe sitting around being put to the bottom of the priority queue...) so no exciting biking news.  I got back onto the intervals wagon after a couple of weeks of being sick and was surprised that I was able to pick up where I left off.  I am quite keen to get back onto the TT bike soon though to do some efforts so hopefully it won't take too much longer to get done.
The 2 up TT is on this week but since my previous 2 up partner is now knocked up (but will be rocking some pretty cool MINI tri kit once she is no longer knocked up) plus I have no TT bike I shall be on spectating duties.

Why can't all the evening commutes be like this

RUN

I ran a half marathon!  There was supposed to be a little posse of us running the half at Mount Maunganui but my two running buddies came up sick during the week so both decided to pull the pin.  I wasn't exactly sick but wasn't well either with a stuffed up nose but no other symptoms (which is still going on over two weeks later...)so I was rearing to go.
I thought I'd be doing well to break 1hr40 but then thought 1hr35 was a better target although maybe a bit optimistic.
It was mostly flat but went around the Mount base track twice for 5-6km in total which definitely slows the pace down.  I planned to head out at 4.20's for the first 3-4km then settle in to 4.30's and whatever I could manage around the Mount and my plan worked pretty well except 4.30 was seemed quite easy and I seemed to be in between 4.20 and 4.25 most of the time.  By the time I got to about the 16km mark and realized I was catching the 2nd and 3rd place girls in front I tried to put a bit more effort in but the last couple of km's around the Mount were a bit too tough.  Ended up running mid 93 which I was pretty happy with, it was probably the best paced half I have ever run and the leggies weren't too sore at the end (maybe a little bit sore the next day...).  I did manage to go for a run two days later which I was quite impressed with.
So I seem to be learning that I less I expect from myself (or maybe the less pressure I put on myself) the better I seem to go...

Man down

Big Jo Training May 13 - May 26

SWIM

I am pleased to report that my tempo timer and I are now friends, quite inseparable actually.  I think I may suffer from separation anxiety if I swim without it which slightly concerning,
Now that I have found the right tempo for the easy stuff we are getting along well.  I especially like it for the harder stuff like 100's because it means I pace myself better.  I think I was starting with a really high stroke count and then blowing up after 50m whereas now I feel like I am going easier holding the higher tempo at the start but then am able to hold it for the last 50m.
Swimming has been pretty boring recently since it is most people's off-seasons so they are putting all these boring (and impossible - why would I ever need to do breaststroke kick on my back?!!) drills in and nothing really meaty like what we do over summer.

BIKE

We quickly discovered that being inner-city apartment dwellers makes you very lazy on the bike.  Commuting is a pretty big part of my training if nothing but as motivation to get out the door and actually get to work but staying in the city cut out a huge part of my commute out.  And not to mention how dirty the Serottica got from not staying at home where the Sunday cleaning sessions usually take place.
However the last two weeks have been pretty snotty and coughly (?) in our household so maybe it was a blessing in disguise to not have to ride in the cold and wet too much.
We had a very dramatic Saturday ride last week with our friend JT riding headfirst into a metal and stone bollard on the old Mangere Bridge snapping his bike int half and knocking himself out for 5 minutes.  As the resident health professional of the group (jointly shared with Dr Dildo the dentist - don't expect him to put someone's tooth back in if it gets knocked out though...) I did the best I could but was pretty thankful when a paramedic rode past and took over.  Luckily JT came around but was pretty spaced out and ended up with 7 fractures in his face and a few broken ribs and a concussion.  Never good to see a buddy on the ground and especially in that state, and probably a timely reminder that I should do a refresher first aid course.

Snap goes the Willier

RUN

Managed to get back on the running wagon then had to jump off due to sickness but am now back on.  We are doing the Mount Half Marathon next weekend will be severely underdone but it will be good for training.  I did a couple of long runs of 14km and 16km plus the 23km volcano run so at least I have done a bit.  If I can go somewhere around the 95min mark I will be pretty happy

Man with an umbrella on his head

Edward Fishslice hands and Steff the sausage

Big Jo Training April 29 - May 12

SWIM

The latest trend at swimming at the moment are these Tempo Timers things which you stick in your cap and they beep in time to your swimming, or what is actually supposed to happen is that they beep and you swim in time to them.  Haydn has set some ridiculously slow warm up tempos where we are only take 22 strokes per minute - not so good for weaklings like me where the longer I try and glide for the lower my elbow drops down.  I think they are quite good for keeping my stroke count up for sprint/VO2 sets but jury is still out for the easy stuff.  I think I will be forced to purchase one of these soon so I'll keep you posted.
My little muppet swimskin is currently being sewn together in the Blue Seventy factory so will be with me sometime next month - exciting!

BIKE

Not much has been happening on the bike in the last two weeks due to an annoying cough and me being sensible (or being a wuss?) and not training through it.  So I missed the Sunday ride the week before and didn't do much last week.  We are currently being inner-city apartment dwellers which reduces my commuting time by quite a bit but is quite nice on those rainy afternoons where I only have a 3 minute bike from the ferry as opposed to 30 minutes.
I said goodbye to a good friend last week - RooRoo and I parted company and it now has a new owner and lives in Whakatane.  It was sad to see it go but the extra cash paying off my credit card made it a bit easier.  I was a bit disturbed that they put it on a bike rack on the back of the car (RooRoo's first time on a bike rack...) and then it absolutely pissed down with rain about five minutes later which made me feel sorry for RooRoo getting all wet.

Stocking up for winter.  Spot the odd one out...

RooRoo I will miss you but I do love MONEY

Commuting on a nice day nom nom nom

Anyway Taddy is getting ready for it's new paint job within the next couple of weeks so standby for some mini bike porn.

RUN

Not much running happened during the week of the relentless coughing but I did do a fun 23km (!) run last weekend which was a fundraiser for my friend Amy who is doing the Badwater Ultramarathon in July.  It was basically a self guided run of the volcanoes of Auckland with a few different distances.  I had planned to do a couple of longer runs building up to it but only managed an hour so ended up increasing my long run milegae by about 100% - none of this 10% crap.... Jared Razzle and I ran with our friends Claire and Two Piece and the km's flew by as we tootled along and chatted.  We went up four volcanoes but was maybe supposed to do six, it was supposed to be 21km so by the time we went up the fourth we had all had enough.  There was an aid station up the top of One Tree Hill with coke and Em's cookie bites and other delicious treats which were all very well recieved.  Not sure I would have made the last 5km without that stop to be honest.

Helpers helping themselves

It was a great way to spend the morning and kick off our long run training.  And an awesome way to fundraise, way better than doing a gay movie night or something.
Leggies actually held up pretty well aside from a few DOMS which crept up the next day so all ready to get serious about running...

Murfy and her new friend Simon the apartment cat

Getting Back on the Wagon

That's right, I am getting back on the wagon in terms of blogging and training.
Coach Poo has given me a bike program to start with so I now have a purpose to my biking.  I am managing my running and have got a good routine going during the week, the weekends are a bit flakey but it is coming together.
I am running a couple of times a week from work and so far have three different sets of trails to run on just a few hundred metres from work which is really quite amazing.  I have just been running out and back since I don't know my way around and most of the trails seem to be point to point but it is way better than running on the road though.  The going is pretty slow (I am a TERRIBLE off road runner) and I must admit that I do get a bit disheartened when my Garmin auto-pauses when I am running up and down hills/stairs...  I am even considering buying some off road shoes since my beautiful ASICS 2000's are getting a bit of a hammering and I would hate for them to get dirty.
I am in the process of getting the Tadpolemator ready to get a makeover and get a new paint job which is quite exciting.  I am not a huge fan of the paint scheme and still feel a bit weird about my bike so a new paint job will do the trick and a good time to do it which I am not riding it.  
Exciting race plans on the horizon - hello Samoa Half Ironman!  I know I made a proclamation awhile back about sticking to age group but I am a sucker for the perks associated with racing Pro... So I am making up the numbers in the Pro field, it doesn't look like it will be a very big field so hopefully I won't disgrace myself too much.  It is about 8 weeks before Kona and is a non-wetsuit swim so will be an ideal build up.  Jared Razzle will be joining me on the start of the Pro field as well as our shadow Kezzle who it seems can't do anything without us (even getting dressed - key evidence of this was his back to front tri top at the ITU AG Worlds last year...).  Still working on my swim skin situation, it is a bit difficult when you are the size of a replica human being to get things to fit sometimes.

I have just been through my camera phone and have no photos to add - opps! Sorry Nick! Better get snapping for the next installment...

Post Ironman Laziness

It's ok people (person?) - I am still alive.

My time since Ironman has been filled with Easter eggs and other bad food, a bit of wine, a new job, a little bit of training and an Olympic distance race.

Here is a pictorial report of the aftermath of Ironman:

Tramp Stamp

                                      

Tramp Stamp race belt chaffing combo

Nasty transponder lines

Pfefferminz.  All gone

Extra special hot chocs

 In terms of training I have basically just been pissing around for a month.  The two weeks post Ironman contained not much at all and the following weeks have contained a bit more but just whatever I have felt like, it has been quite liberating.
I decided a while ago I would quite like to do the age group race following the Auckland ITU race but thought I would pull up after IMNZ.  Since I didn't have any injuries post Ironman (yay!) I thought I would give it a crack just for fun.  I had only been for a handful of runs and figured I should at least do a 10km run the weekend before which seemed to go ok so the deal was sealed.
The race was actually pretty fun - the swim was a bit confusing but the bike was awesome riding through the city (if a little bit technical for a muppet like me...) and the run was good and the correct distance for once.  I rode my Zipps front and back so no power which didn't seem to have any adverse effects except for the momentary panic when I started riding and no power was showing on my Garmin - then I remembered no Powertap - whew.  I will be riding naked at Kona (without power...) so it was good to get a bit of practice in.

No photos of me racing as I was flying solo but this was before the race start

In other news I now have a proper job - wooo! I have regular work hours and get a salary!  Now I feel like a real person.  Only problem is the location but I have slunk my way around it and I am commuting by bike and ferry most days - way better than sitting in a car.  I am going to opposite way to the other commuters so usually have the ferry to myself which is a bit weird but good when I want to close my eyes and have a little nap.

View at the start of my ferry ride

That's all for now!

Mandatory black and white pussy cat photo